Let's be honest: right now, you're probably a little bit exhausted. You've spent years chasing grades and everyone from your parents to your teachers is acting like if you don't get in a really modest university, your future is basically over. There's this heavy silent feeling that going to a technical college or a TVET center is what you do if you don't make to the cutoff. But that's a lie and its a lie that is costing our generation a lot of time and money. The truth is our society has a weird obsession with degrees that don't always lead to jobs. We've been trained to think that sitting in a lecture hall for 4 years is smarter than learning how to build a smart home system, fix a high tech engine or manage a modern hotel. This stigma creates a massive amount of anxiety for high school leavers. You end up choosing a degree you don't even like, just so you don't feel embarrassed when people ask you where you're going to school. But look at the world around you. Everything that actually works; the power in your house, the phone in your hand, was built and is maintained by people with technical skills. These aren't back up jobs. They are the backbone of the world's economy. If you choose a TVET program, you aren't just settling, you're actually getting a head start. While your friends are writing 50 page essays on theory, you'll be getting your hands on the actual tech. You'll be finishing school faster, entering the workforce with zero identity crisis and usually with really much less debts. Psychologically, there's actually nothing better for your confidence than actually being good at something tangible. There's a specific type of pride that comes from saying, “I built this" or “I fixed that" which to be honest a certificate on the wall can't give you. So, to the person who graduated from highschool last year, stop looking at vocational training as a consolation prize. It's a short cut to being an expert. It's okay to want to work with your hands. It's okay to want to start earning sooner. Don't let someone else's outdated idea of prestige, talk you out of a career that actually has a future.

Let's be honest: right now, you're probably a little bit exhausted. You've spent years chasing grades and everyone from your parents to your teachers is acting like if you don't get in a really modest university, your future is basically over. There's this heavy silent feeling that going to a technical college or a TVET center is what you do if you don't make to the cutoff. But that's a lie and its a lie that is costing our generation a lot of time and money. The truth is our society has a weird obsession with degrees that don't always lead to jobs. We've been trained to think that sitting in a lecture hall for 4 years is smarter than learning how to build a smart home system, fix a high tech engine or manage a modern hotel. This stigma creates a massive amount of anxiety for high school leavers. You end up choosing a degree you don't even like, just so you don't feel embarrassed when people ask you where you're going to school. But look at the world around you. Everything that actually works; the power in your house, the phone in your hand, was built and is maintained by people with technical skills. These aren't back up jobs. They are the backbone of the world's economy. If you choose a TVET program, you aren't just settling, you're actually getting a head start. While your friends are writing 50 page essays on theory, you'll be getting your hands on the actual tech. You'll be finishing school faster, entering the workforce with zero identity crisis and usually with really much less debts. Psychologically, there's actually nothing better for your confidence than actually being good at something tangible. There's a specific type of pride that comes from saying, “I built this" or “I fixed that" which to be honest a certificate on the wall can't give you. So, to the person who graduated from highschool last year, stop looking at vocational training as a consolation prize. It's a short cut to being an expert. It's okay to want to work with your hands. It's okay to want to start earning sooner. Don't let someone else's outdated idea of prestige, talk you out of a career that actually has a future.